Frank Reisner had the design in hand when he went to Italia and had Franco Scaglione build the first of the Italia’s in late 1967/1968. The first cars had the 289 Ford Hi-Pro motor with 4 speed, wheel disc brakes. The car is all steel and had a very similar Ferrari look to it. The car has Jarger gauges made specifically for the Italia. The later cars 1970/71-1973 had either the 351ci Ford Cleveland or Windsor motor and also had posi-trac rearend. The cars fell under Carrozzeria IM (Intermeccanica)
With the beautiful Italian body and full Ford drive train the Italia was a winning combo however the cost made it difficult to sell as it was within a couple of thousand dollars of the Ferrari spiders of the time so only a couple of hundred were made.
The car has become a serious collector car now and the price has reflected the demand for them.
Like the Sunbeam Tiger the Italia with the Ford drive train allows collectors to own something very close to the Shelby Cobras for much less and just as rare.
This car is well sorted and also comes with A/C making it a very usable sports car. It has participated in the Copperstate and Colorado Grand so it can be driven with confidence. Please contact us at 714-426-0238 or mark@crevierclassiccars.com